


Alone Together

by Alexandrite_Dragoness



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akira dating whoever you want to imagine, But it's a Date, F/M, Valentine's Day, technically not a date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24512317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexandrite_Dragoness/pseuds/Alexandrite_Dragoness
Summary: Unlike some of the lucky Phantom Thieves, Ryuji didn't have a special someone to spend time with for this Valentine's Day. Same goes for Makoto, and shortly after their collide in the evening, they hope to get this dreadful day over with, even if it's hanging out together to pass the time...
Relationships: Niijima Makoto & Sakamoto Ryuji, Niijima Makoto/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	Alone Together

Ok, so this may have been already one of the worst days of the starting year: Valentine’s Day. The vulgar faux blonde scratched his head in frustration, figuring out how to get this already-awful day over with. It’s that day where all the couples do kisses and cuddles in public, only to rub it against the singles’ faces. Whether it be friends, or just some complete strangers, showing off either way. At least, that’s how he thinks of it.

The thought of it just makes him sick nonetheless. Throughout his life in Shujin so far, not one girl took a mere interest in him. He can’t really blame anyone; his vulgar and misbehaving attitude wouldn’t really impress any girl that he can think of. With that aside, he guesses there’s one other thing he could do: Since this is the ‘last day’ before the phantom thieves depart from their formal leader, he took a trip to LeBlanc, hoping to see his pal being available. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly the case. He noticed the sign on the door being closed, which is early for the cafe. A little confused on why that being the case, he took a quick peek inside through the window. The lights are on, and there seems to be two individuals inside the café. He sees the leader alright, but… with who? Wait, is that…? No way! Her!?

**_For Real!?_ **

His eyes went wide open upon his profound discovery. The fact that, their leader, who always has the time to help his friends when needed, was able to scoop a lady just like this one! And on top of that, how so secretive he is with his love life! He can’t say whether he should be jealous, proud, or… feel bad for him. Yes it’s nice that he has someone, who would have to have a long distance relationship with once he goes back home. Well, guess as long as they stay in touch, it should work out fine.  _ Man, can’t wait to tell this to the rest of the gang… _

He trailed off alone shortly after. He checks each contact on his phone to see if they would be available. He didn’t bother actually texting them though; He didn’t feel like bothering them in case they are busy.

_ Yeah, like who’d want to hang out with someone like me anyways? _

He laughed to himself, feeling worse than normal. In fact, he started to have second thoughts about himself. Sure, his friends appreciate him for being the way he is. But sometimes he just feels like, perhaps he’s a nuisance to them. He’s done reckless and, of course stupid decisions of his own. He can’t help it sometimes. He cares deeply for his friends. Is that so wrong? But, he knows that deeply, his friends admired him just the way he is. Them giving him a hard time just shows how much they care for him. In a sense….

As he continued strolling with a train of thought, his shoulder accidentally hit another person’s. He quickly turns around almost immediately to make an apology, putting his hands up in submission. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t-!”

His eyes widened as he saw a familiar girl in the trench coat. Her face partially covered up by her short hair as it’s being blown in the wind. She wiped her eyes to see clearly, staring at him in surprise that they ran into one another at this place.

“Ryuji?”

“Makoto?”

Both the Priestess and Chariot stand by frozen, not sure what action to take next. The two try to come up with some sort of explanation, but they don’t have much to say. Makoto fixes her hair from the wind’s creation and looks over at his direction, not making much eye contact.

“Didn’t… expect to see you here.” She spoke softly.

“Same, to be honest.” He looks around, scratching his head to make up his next sentence. “So, uh, you alone on Valentine’s day too?” Not that it’s much of a surprise. Unless she has a secret lover as well, she doesn’t have anyone to hang out with for this special occasion.

She nodded slightly, turning her head the other way in an almost self-conscious manner. Her hands move across her face once more, slightly concerning the blonde.

“Hey, you ok?” Now that he thinks about it, he hopes she didn’t take offense to that last question. He slowly approaches her closely, placing his hand on her shoulder for comfort.

“I-I’m fine!” She reacts by shrugging him off, not what he was entirely expecting. Her eyes look a little puffy like she’s been crying for a while now. Her voice cracked and she seems to be trembling, like she just regretted her recent action. He may be dumb, but definitely not stupid. If anything, she’s troubled, and he wants to help her somehow. That’s what the leader would do anyways. He looks around once more, spots something in interest and turns back at the brunette, waiting for her to make eye contact before requesting.

“Do you… wanna talk about it? There’s a café down the street if you, well you know, wanna vent this stuff out. Uh, my treat.” He cracks a grin at the end, lightening the mood a little.

She wanted to say no, just so she doesn’t drag him to her own problems. She hates the feeling of depending on another for comfort, as she wants to deal with her problems herself. However, the boy insists to do so, showing that he cares. She makes a sigh, and nods in response. “Well, I have nothing better to do after all.”

Ryuji then makes another delighted smile. “Same! Besides, you look like you need a breather.”

-

The café isn’t as crowded as the other ones around, which gives the two a bit more privacy. The owners might think the two are on a valentine date, which isn’t the case, but it’s not like they want to correct them when wanting to discuss a more crucial matter. Which, whenever Makoto would start, that is. He waits patiently as she spaces out a bit, gripping onto her water glass with such unease. After the awkward silence, Ryuji lightly knocks on the table, hoping to snap her out of it.

“Hey, Makoto?”

She took a moment to realize where they even are, snapping back to reality as she sighs to herself in disbelief.

“Sorry, a lot has happened today. I don’t think I want to drag you into this…”

“I mean, I did say you can talk to me about it. So, spit it out: What’s goin’ on?” His words came in a mix of humor and seriousness, not wanting her to hold anysort of grief to herself. It’s really unhealthy, as something he learned from her.

She didn’t know where to start. A lot of thoughts went through her mind, mainly one in particular. She made another deep sigh, trying to stay calm before starting.

“I…. I saw our leader earlier today….” Her sentence pauses as she tries to get the last words out. “With  _ someone else _ .”

“You did too!?” So, it seems like he’s not the only one. The way she mentions it though, seems to have bothered her greatly. “You don’t, uh, seemed overall excited about that.”

She chuckled a bit, knowing that’s the case. “I.. uh… well…” Her voice cracked; the feeling of this discovery came back as she held her face in despair. “You can say that- god why is this so hard!?”

“Relax,” He places his arms on the table, looking at her considerably. “You can tell me.”

She doesn’t know why, she’s not the usual emotional type of person. She tries putting her words together once more. “You see, I… may have some feelings for him.” She averts her eyes from him, feeling a little guilty from saying so. “So, I thought I may be able to confess those feelings I have to him. But when I came by the café today…” There was nothing else to say. He figured, seeing a guy she likes with another woman must’ve taken her by surprise. It did for him too, but in a different sort of way.

She continued. “You see, it all started a while ago. When we had a double ‘fake’ date with another friend of mine. I was wanting to get to the bottom of her so-called boyfriend...”

“Wait, for real!?” This is the first he heard about this. It seems like there’s always that secret life stuff all his friends are doing.

She nodded. “It turns out he was just a host using her. I knew my doubts from the very beginning. I even had to snap her out of it- err….” She recalled the scene when she actually smacked her to get her back into reality, and what was really going on. She decided to leave that detail out, leaving Ryuji a bit puzzled. She continues her story. “Long story short, I mentioned how there’s so much I need to learn.” She shook her head, remembering that thought. “How I couldn’t learn about romance by myself…”

Ryuji listened prudently. Seeing where she’s going with this, he responded. “And what did he say?”

She pulled her hair back, unsure if she should say it. “He said… that I’ll… find someone someday.” She finds it so amusing now, seeing the idea behind his meaning. “To think what was supposed to be his way of saying… all this time…”

Awkward silence fell once more. Ryuji makes a whistle and stretches his arms out. “Wow, that was… y-yeah.”

A waitress came by asking what they’d like. Ryuji looks over to Makoto, mentioning it is on him.

“Let me buy you something. You can go for whatever. My treat, like I promised.”

“N-No, I can’t…” She protested, knowing he doesn’t have a lot to spend.

“No worries! I have the mons. You deserve this night.”

After a quick debate, she sighed in defeat. “Very well…. I’ll take the Udon, please.”

Ryuji ordered as well, and went back to the topic. “I gotta say, I didn’t think you’d have that sort of emotions for anyone.” He finds it super amusing. To think, miss council prez having a crush. On their leader! Just the idea blows his mind a bit. She rolls her eyes in dismay.

“I can have romantic interests with others too, you know.” She eyes him with her signature cold stare. Ryuji can feel the idea of a punch coming from the Queen herself, if he proceeds any longer.

“I-I didn’t say you can’t…” He laughed awkwardly, feeling her stare getting more intense. “It’s just I never saw you this way before… But you know, I’m sure there is someone for you out there for sure! Just gotta keep lookin’, is all.” His voice brightens up with confidence. He may not have been lucky himself, but technically she’s on the same boat. He finds that to be something they have in common.

Somehow, her stare eased and felt restored from his words of encouragement. “Thanks, I feel a lot better now.”

“Good,” He’s glad. “Seriously, screw that guy! If he wants to keep his ‘lovey-dovey relationship’ to himself, that’s on him. Besides, he’s gonna have to deal with the long-distance relationship thing in the end!”

The two laughed a little, knowing that will be the case.

“At least they get to spend the holiday with each other though…” He adds in.

She furrows her eyebrows slightly, but decides to bring up the bright side of this special occasion.

“Valentine’s Day is about being with your significant other after all,” The young brunette mentions, an incorrigible smile comes across her lips. “But February 15 th is an unofficial holiday for single people who don’t have a special someone to spend time with.”

“Wait, really?” Ryuji places his cup down eagerly. “Why haven’t I heard of this?!”

“Again, as I mentioned, it’s not an official holiday.” She sighs as she rubs the fog from her glass. “It’s just a special day people have made up to highlight their single status. Such activities vary as well, such as travelling, volunteering for services or perhaps just treating oneself for the entire day. Black Day is a similar occasion, but that’s considered official, usually takes place on April 14 th .” She pauses for a moment, seeing if Ryuji is following along. “I heard that in South Korea they celebrate so by eating Jajangmyeon, for whatever reason that may be…” She ponders as she mentally backtracks on where she even heard of these occasions.

The faux blonde rubs his hands together in delight. “Sounds good to me! Anything with good food is its own luxury! Hey… speaking of which…”

Just as he comes to think about it, the waitress comes with their orders and places them on the table. Makoto bows with gratitude and Ryuji gets ready to dig in. “Alright time to chow down!”

Makoto mentally facepalms as she witnesses him eating his food like a hungry hound. However, she finds it amusing, even bringing up times where he has something on his face so he would wipe it off, seeing that it bothers her. She smiles in response, and with that they continue on with their conversation. The two enjoy their meals and mind their business with the others around them. Ryuji was able to keep his voice down upon Makoto’s request whenever he got excited. He would crack a joke or two just to make Makoto feel at ease with him. The conversation continues for a good hour, but it feels timeless to them. She was able to finish her meal, and thought of something to say.

“You know, from the moment I joined the ‘team’,” She’s choosing her words carefully as they are in a public place. “I realized that, it shouldn’t matter what they want us to do, or push those decisions they want to make for us. We are our own people, and we choose a path of whatever we ourselves desire. And of course, what we believe it’s best for us.”

Ryuji taps his foot restlessly. “Yeah, but still.” He leans forward on the table, the Priestess’s eyes locks onto his gloom expression. “Guys like us always say we should ‘do this’ or ‘do that’, just because it’s the ‘normal’ thing to do.” He looks down at his cup, the light from the ceiling reflected from the liquid within. Taking his words into thought, he looks at the brunette from across with an adequate impression. “But, what you just said there, really has a point. I should strive at my own pace, and choose to live my own life. And, well, look for a partner at the right time, or… something like that.”

She looks over at him, as if she has a proud expression of her face. He does know how to make a convincing verdict. “Here’s to us,” She declares as she raises her glass. “For striving through our youth without a care of society’s expectations, and not having to have romantic associations. We’ll keep going onward and do what we want to achieve. At least, together, as companions: Confidants in fact!”

“Cheers.” The two say after one another as they clash their drinks together. They did so in a silent manner, just keeping it between the two as they sip their drinks.

“Hey,” The blonde student then shoots a grin at Makoto, getting her attention within an instant. “At least no one’s cheatin’ on ya!”

Awkward silence shows between the two students for a few moments. Makoto’s stiff, blank expression broke into a, what appears to be a smile, then a chuckle. A laugh, to be exact. Wait, her, laughing? She can’t even stop herself; The joke wasn’t even that funny to her, but yet, it’s true. Maybe that’s what makes it so… amusing. The pleasing aura from the brunette seems to be affecting Ryuji, as he joins in on the laughing manner as well. He honestly doesn’t recall her laughing so much before, or even at all. She ends up suddenly snorting during her laugh, which caught Ryuji by surprise. The two stare silently once more, but continue off the laughing trend afterwards, the boy laughing more than ever. She didn’t even care about his reaction anymore, as the now tearing moment has been lasting for a good minute, attracting some unwanted looks from the others around them. The two finally ended with a relieved sigh, Ryuji letting out a light chuckle from the whole scenario. It was definitely heartening, she had to admit. The vibrant red eyes staring at his brown ones, she breaks the focus and takes another sip from her drink.

“You know,” He scratches his head in a form of interest. “I don’t think I heard you laugh like that before.”

“Oh… well,” She blushes slightly as she massages the side of her head. “I don’t laugh very often as such, so to speak.”

He leans back and crosses his arms, enjoying her fidgeting as she turns slightly red. “Well, I think it’s cute.”

Wait, cute? Is that even the right word? He feels as if she may scold him for thinking so. Imagining her whacking him on the side of the head for embarrassing her like that. Is that really so wrong though? He can imagine multiple different outcomes from this, from the kick to the foot, to another cold stare and perhaps some sort of silent treatment. He probably deserves it though, he thought.

The countless ideas spin around in his head as he waits for a response, blushing a little red himself.

Instead, she just averts her eyes from his gaze. “I… thanks.” Upon looking away, she feels eyes from the rest of the customers in the café. Their laugh must’ve caused a scene for the two. She tries to say something to Ryuji, but she couldn’t quite make the words.

“I… think we should go…”

“Huh?” He hears something, and looks up at her with a puzzling look. From that, he saw other people looking too. He started to feel anxious, not really in the mood to finish his meal. “Maybe we should call it a day, eh?” He chuckles awkwardly, and with a nod of agreement, the two make their way out the door. Makoto was able to leave a tip on the table before the departure.

They went outside, the day has gone darker for sure. He stretches and looks behind him being the café. “Well, that was, heh, pretty exciting.”

“Yeah, that was an interesting experience. I had a good time nonetheless.” She pulls her hair back and smiles at him. “Thank you, Sakamoto-san.”

He felt nervous about her formal gesture, scratching his head. “H-Hey, no prob. Ya don’t need to say it like that you know.”

“But I did enjoy our time together, just… take the compliment.” She says with a sweet tone at the end. Well, it’s getting late.”

The felt of droplets fell upon their heads, a sprinkle has been coming in since they walked out. Makoto shivers from the cold, which got the boy’s attention. He takes off his jacket and wraps it around her to keep her warm. “Here. Let me walk you home.”

She was about to protest, but knowing him, he would just insist regardless. “You sure? It may be a long way home for you if you do that.”

“No, it’s fine, really!” A confident smile comes across his face. “Besides, I’ll need my jacket back once you’re done with it.”

“Very well then…” Making a point across, they walk over to the train station to take a ride towards her place. Not a lot of words are exchanged between them on the way there, which feels kind of awkward for the two. He figures that since they talked a lot already, there’s not much else to say now. He notices her expression being about the same as before. That uneasy, anxious feeling. He can’t ignore that too, so he inches closer to see for sure.

“Aww come on, what’s with the long face?”

He did take her by surprise, but she ends up smiling in response. She doesn’t get it; He tends to have a way of brightening her mood, even if it’s something so dumb and little. She sighs, and decides whether or not to bother him with it. Either that or he may not leave her alone for the rest of the way home.

“You know, the whole situation with our leader wasn’t the only thing that made this day worse.” She confesses, hugging herself with the jacket on. “I got into a fight with my sister earlier this morning. Family business, that sort of thing.”

“Ahhh,” He acknowledge her response. “Is she nitpicking on you about school and stuff?”

Hearing so, he’s not totally off. It was school related after all, or more specifically, college related. She doesn’t think he’d want to hear that sort of topic, he’s only a second year after all. She tries to rub it off.

“Yeah, in a way.” She looks out the window and sees the city lights in the early night sky. As she admires the city view, Ryuji was already occupied looking at the Queen with her soft smile. Seeing her content seems to warm his heart a little, but couldn’t quite put his finger on why. By the time she looks back at him, he quickly averts his eyes away and coughs so she doesn’t notice. She feels a little suspicious seeing him in that regard, but just shakes the feeling away. Silence comes between the two once more, as he looks back on everything they did back in the café. It was definitely a pleasant time, and he enjoyed it. She certainly enjoyed it. Now, a thought has been bothering him since.

“Hey, so…” He starts. “That wasn’t a date, was it?”

It may have taken merely two seconds for the girl to figure out what he meant, and shoots a puzzling stare at the blonde. “I-I don’t think so…”

The two stare off from one another, thinking over the amount of their time together. Makoto figures it was just two casual friends passing time to get over the lousy holiday, which turned out better than expected, she admits. Ryuji keeps glancing over to see if she has any other answer. He scratches his head, a feeling of regret comes over him.  _ Maybe it wasn’t a good idea- _

“Do you want it to be?”

“I…” His face glows slightly red and becomes unable to move. “I mean… if you don’t mind it thenyeahsurewecancallitad-date…” He starts muttering at the end, making it very hard to follow.

She couldn’t quite catch all that, but his response was very amusing to watch. “Well, thanks for today. It was nice to get away from the stress after all.”

He chuckles nervously and nods to her. “Of course. I had a good time with you too.” Hearing his own response even caught him off guard. He doesn’t mind admitting so, but he just hoped she didn’t take it that way.  _ Was it a date? _ Even he doesn’t know.

The bus announces the next stop, which Makoto mentions is her stop. The two get up from their seats and wait for the bus to fully stop. Ryuji glances over once more to look at her.  _ Dude, seriously why you keep doing that? _ Makoto feels the suspicion again, and catches his gaze with hers. He gulps, hoping this didn’t cause anything awkward. She just smiles and looks back outside, the train fully coming to a stop. With a silent sigh of relief, the two get out of the train and start walking down the street. Nothing else is being said until they reach her apartment, he even walks up to the front door with her. She bows with delight.

“Thank you again, I had a nice time with you.” She takes the jacket off and hands it over to him, as he gladly accepts it, with some hesitation.

“Uh- yeah, it was nice, wasn’t it?” He ruffles his hair and smiles at the council student. She nods in agreement, and goes to unlock the door, knowing things may heat up again between her and her sister if the topic gets brought up again. She might as well go straight to bed. As she was able to unlock the door and open it, the boy just thought of something last minute.

“Oh, h-hang on…” He looks through his pockets and finds a sort of a simply-wrapped treat, and hands it over to her. “Here.”

The brunette puts her hand out and accepts the gift. “Chocolate?”

“Yeah,” He answers. “I was buyin’ something at the convenience store, and the shopkeeper lady gave me this. You can have it!”

She feels appreciated, even if it’s something small, he gladly accepts it from him. “Thank you. But… isn’t it supposed to be the girl who gives chocolate to the male friend?”

“Psshh, you kiddin’? I don’t even care for chocolate. Besides…” He shifts away slightly. “I-It’s not like we were plannin’ anything today.”

“That is true.” She giggles on the response, feeling a little off put by that statement. She shakes the feeling off and walks into the apartment. “Well, good night, have a safe trip ok?”

He nods and sways his hand towards her. “Don’t worry ‘bout it. Tell your sis I said hi.” He then walks down from the apartment. Makoto watches carefully as she sighs, about to close the door.

“Oh,” Ryuji turns back around, gesturing a goodbye. “And uh, Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Makoto nods, a smile comes upon her lips. “Happy Valentine’s Day to you too.”

And with that he walks the other way back to the bus stop. He couldn’t help but feel… a little remorseful for the boy. Even though he insists to hang out with her, she seems to have made him feel better as well. Not once since the idea of their leader leaving tomorrow crossed her mind. It was just her, and him out and about. She goes straight to her room, and paces around as she feels a slight worry for him.

Ryuji was able to catch the train as he reached the top, occupying himself on his phone, texting his mom he’ll be home soon. Hopefully he didn’t worry his mom too much being out this late. She’ll understand. Sometime during the trip, he got a text message. Thinking it may be his mom, he goes on it to check. Instead, it was Makoto,  _ “Let me know when you make it home” _ .

He didn’t expect the council president to be so worried about him. He mentally puts down a reminder to text her back when he does. The trip was longer than expected, her place lives a little far off than he thought she’d be, but it was closer to the academy, which makes not much of a surprise to him. He was then able to get off and walk down the street, getting home safely. From that, he texted her back.  _ “Don’t worry, I didn’t die!” _

If she could roll her eyes in a text, she would. At least she knows he’s home safely. She texted back, deciding to get a little smart.  _ “Did someone mug you then?” _

_ “Haha very funny miss prez! I didn’t get mugged or shit.” _ He then sent another text.  _ “But I’m alright, thx 4 askin’” _ .

He guessed he could’ve gone with that text at first, but he just wanted to be funny. Makoto on the other hand didn’t find texting like that to be amusing. Not knowing whether or not to reply, she turned in for the night. Ryuji was able to get ready quickly, and propped himself into bed. He looks at the text message over, seeing that she’s not responding anytime soon. With that, he turned in for the night as well.  _ About time for Valentine’s Day to be over with _ , they thought to themselves, knowing for sure it was a day worth spent.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!
> 
> This is my first Persona fic!! ;w; yay!  
> I really admire the idea of these two together, who may seemed to be opposites but really have a few things in common! I kept the protagonist's girlfriend anonymous so you guys can imagine whoever it can be :V (just not Makoto pfffff).
> 
> Anyways hope you enjoy this little one-shot, I really like this ship but this only touches the surface of a relationship that would grow later on :3 but if you're not a fan; ok, fine, just no backhanded compliments please (I really despise those)!
> 
> Anyways byyyeee~


End file.
